Choosing The Right Wireless Intrusion And Prevention Policies

The need for delivering quality wireless services in hospitality venues like hotels and big convention centers has been increasing. The availability and quality of Wi-Fi service is one of the most important factors for business travelers, event organizers, and holidaymakers when making their decisions about hotel booking. Some hoteliers offer free Wi-Fi hotspots in order to attract guests and differentiate their services, while others charge fees for Wi-Fi services. Typically, these hotspots use unsecure open authentication, so network administrators need to separate guest network access from core corporate network. With the presence of many Wi-Fi devices from guests who often run their own personal Wi-Fi hotspot, administrators need the best Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS), one that delivers no false positives for clients and access points. Also, increased emphasis by regulatory bodies like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other government agencies on enforcement of laws related to RF jamming are making it crucial for WIPS systems to accurately identify unauthorized rogue devices before initiating air termination on these devices. Recently, there were incidents where the FCC imposed massive fines on organizations for wrongfully terminating personal Wi-Fi hotspots of guests in hospitality venues. This paper gives a quick overview best practices for device classification and policy enforcement while setting up a WIPS system.